Car retarder



Jan. 4, 1966 R. L. WILSON 3,227,246

CAR RETARDER Filed Feb. 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 j m M Hlh n Inventor Rosser L Wilson 85 Zdallm, M4 @nw Him-Regs Jan. 4, 1966 R. L. WILSON 3,227,245

OAR RETARDER Filed Feb. 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 HIW w i qg w I. r 1 m 15 M, H In i Ill! I II IL- I III I I QIL LJJU'. l

2i V i I 68 z Inventor Rosser' L. Wilson. 85/ Wayne, awn/1301M,-

Jan. 4, 1966 R. L. WILSON 3,

' CAR RETARDER Filed Feb. 20. 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor Rosser Lfwl'lscm.

R. L. WILSON Jan. 4, 1966 CAR RETARDER 8 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed Feb. 20, 1964 Inventor Rosser L (Wilson.

R. L. WILSON CAR RETARDER Jan. 4, 1966 8 Sheets-$heet 5 Filed Feb. 20. 1964 ill Egg .9

mm Ll IH W Inventor m Z m w a Jan. 4, 1966 R. L. WILSON 3,227,246

CAR RETARDER Filed Feb. 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 O i i J 3; E J g IHHHI HIII IHIH

IHI'I'I'II Inventor Rosser L.w:|$on

Jan. 4, 1966 R. L. WILSON 3,227,246

CAR RETARDER Filed Feb. 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Q a m '5 Id. m LR Inventor Rosser' L. Wilson.

Jan. 4, 1966 R. 1.. WILSON 3,227,246

CAR RETARDER Filed Feb. 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 125 I26 sgi J5 Im/emor Rosser Lfwl'lson.

53 Md m Marne 5.8

United States Patent 3,227,246 CAR RETARDER Rosser L. Wilson, Mahwah, NJ., assignor to American Brake Shoe Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 346,168 23 Claims. (Cl. 188-62) This invention relates to a retarder system for braking railroad cars, and more particularly to a system wherein the retarding or stopping force is proportional to the weight of the railway car.

In railway classification yards, railroad cars are routed to different positions, and it is often desired to control the rate of movement of a railway car or to stop the railroad car and hold it for a period of time and then release the car in response to a remote signal. Many of the retarding mechanisms heretofore employed have been quite complex in that they embodied a number of operating linkages, compression springs and interconnected levers. Also, many retarder systems require relatively extensive foundations for installation, or alternatively require the retarder to be secured to the ties and thus subjected to becoming misaligned as the ties shift. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is a simplified retarder system wherein a single one-piece lever performs the main operating functions and wherein the operating lever and its operating mechanism neither require a special foundation nor fastening to the railroad ties. An object of the present invention is an improved and simplified retarder system in which compression springs and interconnected levers have been eliminated and replaced by a single, onepiece operating lever of low cost and rugged construction, the lever serving the multiple functions of exerting the braking force by a friction element secured thereto and of proportioning the amount of braking force to the weight of the railway car.

More specifically, the present invention employs a series of independent and identically configured levers for supporting braking or friction rails that engage the sides of a railway wheel and for supporting the traffic or running rail over which the railway wheel moves. These levers also serve to lift the trafiic or running rail as the levers pivot due to the outward movement of the braking rails as a railway wheel moves between the brake rails. Thus, an object of the present invention is not only to reduce the number of parts employed for moving an abrasion rail on one side of a railway wheel, but also to reduce the inventory of parts necessary for a retarder system by using identical parts for operating the braking rails on either side of the railway wheel.

Preferably, the retarder system should be selectively rendered operative to retard a car or rendered inoperative either to allow a car to pass through without being retarded, or to release a car that has been stopped within the retarder system. Accordingly, a further object of this invention is to afford a simple hydraulic mechanism and mounting arangement of the levers to facilitate the selective enabling or disabling of the retarder system. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel support shaft disposed on the railroad ties and having an eccentric mounting portion for at least one retarder lever and to provide a fluid-operated cylinder mechanism for turning the rock shafts and eccentrics, in response to a remote signal, to pivot the levers bearing the braking rails between an operative braking position and an inoperative or released position.

The braking rails, that serve as the brake shoes or friction elements and that rub against the side of the railway wheels, must be securely held within the lever means against the great forces applied thereto by the railway 3,227,246 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 car; but they also should be readily adjustable so as to be able to compensate for any wear on the braking surfaces. A further object of the present invention is to hold the braking rails positively against movement on the lever means and to aiford a simple Wedging element capable of moving the braking rails outwardly after they have experienced wear.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what is now considered to be the best mode contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the traffic rail and braking rails carried by the levers in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 3, showing the mounting of a rock shaft on a pair of adjacent railway ties;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a traflic rail and a pair of braking rails mounted on a pair of lever means therefor;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows and showing the traffic rail and braking rails in engagement with a railway car wheel;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View showing the abrasion rails in their released posittion in relationship to a railway wheel passing over said trafiic rail;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the braking rails in their cocked, operative, position awaiting entry of a wheel;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing stop elements for limiting rotation of the levers;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a stabilizer beam for maintaining the gauge between tratfic rails;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of another stabilizer beam for maintaining the gauge between traific rails;

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the traffic rail and braking rails carried by the levers in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10 and enlarged to illustrate the levers employed in the embodiment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a rock shaft and levers thereon according to the embodiment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a broken plan view of the rock shaft employed in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is an end view taken along the lines 1414 in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 13 showing the rock shaft;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the rock shaft taken along the lines 1515 in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the rock shaft taken along the lines 16-16 in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a trafic rail guide;

FIG. 18 is a side elevational view of the traflic rail guide of FIG. 17; and

FIG. 19 is an elevational view of a double acting cylinder secured by a bracket to the trafiic rail.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a plurality of spaced rail-way ties 10 supporting spaced running or traffic rails 11 which a serve to support the wheels of a railway car in the conventional manner. As shown in FIG. 1, the rail 11, lowermost in this figure, is associated with a retarding system generally designated by the numeral 13, while the other rail 11, uppermost in this figure, is not associated with a retarder.

While a retarding system 13 has been illustrated as being applied to only one traflic rail of a pair of traflic rails 11, it is understood that each of the traffic rails 11 may be provided wit-h a retarder system 13, and that for the purposes of illustration, only one retarder 13 is disclosed since a retarder system for the opposite rail 11 would be identical in construction to the one disclosed. The use of a retarder system 13 for each of the traflic rails 11 may be more desirable than a single retarder for one of the rails 11 when conditions might cause high stresses of the braking force where applied to the wheel only on one side of the car. With a retarder system for each of the trafiic rails, the lateral forces are minimized in the car wheels and truck parts due to balancing of opposing lateral forces.

The retarder system 13 functions to brake a railway car moving therethrough. In the present instance, the retarder system 13 can be selectively controlled to position a pair of braking rails or retarder elements 15 adapted to engage the side 16, FIG. 4, of a car wheel 17 riding on the top portion 18 of the traflic rail 11. The retarder elements 15 function as brake shoe elements in that they are adapted to retard rotation of car wheels 17 by frictionally engaging the sides of the car wheels. The retarder elements 15 are shown in the form of rails and for reasons of economy are often scrap railway rails; but the invention herein is not to be construed as limited to rail type friction retarder elements even though for descriptive purposes they are referred to in this specification as braking rails 15. Thus, the retarder elements 15 could be rods of a square crosssection or some other cross-section. Also, the retarder elements 15 could be of a series of individual elements rather than the long unitary rails shown herein in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the braking rails 15 have their end portions 20 turned or flared outwardly away from the traffic rail 11, forming at each end a mouth or opening through which the railway wheels pass into and from the retarding system 13. The flared portions 20 of the braking rails 15 channel the wheels of the railway car into engagement with the braking rails 15. When in normal cocked position, the rails 15 are spaced apart a distance less than the width of the car wheel, so that their wheel-engaging surfaces 22 are engaged by the sides 16 of the wheel and are forced outwardly by the car wheel 17 moving between the braking rails 15. Each of the braking rails 15 is a unitary rail, and each is supported at spaced positions by a plurality of levers 25 that is pivotally mounted on a portion 26 of a rock shaft 27 which spans a pair of adjacent railway ties 10.

Each of the braking rails 15 has a web 30 overlying a horizontal plate 31 on the levers 25. The plate 31 is integrally fixed to the lever 25 and extends horizontally outward along the web 30. Each of the webs 30 is secured to a plurality of the plates 31 on the respective levers 25 along its respective side of the traffic rail 15 by bolts 32 inserted through elongated holes or slots (not shown) in the webs 30 and the plates 31. Threaded on the bolts 32 are nuts 33 for fastening together the webs 30 and the plates 31.

The braking rails 15 are subjected to large laterally directed forces as the railroad car wheel moves therebetween and the bolt 32 and the nut 33 do not need to serve as a friction device to hold the rail 15 against lateral movement, but merely to clamp the rail 15 in position, as the lateral forces or thrusts are transmitted by wedges 35 to the levers 25. The Wedges 35 are positioned between an end flange 36 of the braking rail 15 and a curved seat 37 in the lever 25. As :best seen in FIG. 3, each of the wedges 35 has an inclined plane with a face 40 that seats within a complementary seat 37 of a lever 25. The wedges 35 serve as a solid interconnection between the rails 15 and levers 25 for transmitting the lateral force from the rails 15 to the levers 25 and afford an infinite means of adjustment whereby the rails 15 can be moved laterally towards the railway wheel 17. For example, when braking rails 15 become worn, the braking rails 15 are moved toward the traffic rail 11 by forcing the wedges 35 deeper into the seats 37 whereupon the inclined planes move across the seats 37 and force the braking rails 15 toward the traffic rail 11 so that the amount of wear is compensated for and the wheel engaging surfaces 22 on the rails 15 are again returned to the positions they occupied prior to becoming worn away. The wedges 35, thus, provide for infinite adjustment. Of course, the wedges 35 can be moved in the opposite direction to release a braking rail 15 as when it is desired to replace a braking rail 15.

The levers 25 that support the abrasion rails 15 are identically constructed and hence are interchangeable. They can be used for supporting either a right or a left braking rail for engaging either the right or left side of the car wheel. The levers 25 provide a monolithic structural member which not only supports the abrasion rails 15, but which also affords cradle portion 45 for supporting the traffic rail 11.

Additionally, the levers 25 serve as the means whereby a retarding force may be exerted on the car wheel 17 in proportion to the weight of the car being supported by the car wheels 17. More specifically, the movement of a car wheel 17 through the retarding system 13 causes the braking rails to receive lateral thrusting forces; these lateral forces cause the lever arms 25 to pivot about the portions 26 of the rock shaft 27 to lift the traflic rail 11. The heavier the weight of the car, the greater will he the force resisting the lifting of the traffic rail 11 and the car wheel 17, and hence the greater the force attempting to turn the levers 25 in an opposite direction about the rock shaft 27 to :bring the abrasion rails 15 into tighter and greater frictional engagement with the sides 16 of the car wheel 17. Thus, for heavy cars, the amount of frictional force retarding the car will be greater, since the downward force on the traffic rail 11 will be greater than that for a lighter railway car, holding the braking rails 15 in tighter engagement with the sides 16 of the car wheel 17.

The force applied locally to a braking rail 15 may be changed by placing the eccentric 26 of the rock shaft 27 in either one of two alternative openings 28 or 28A in a lever 25. Should it be found to be advantageous, it is possible to place the eccentrics 26 of the opposed rock shafts 2 7 in the inward openings 28A of the retarder system 13 so as not to exert as great a braking force as generated by the levers 25 pivoted about a rock shaft mounted in the opening 28. Thus, for example, the reduction in braking force applied to the wheels as they enter the retarder system facilitates movement of the wheels into the retarder before the full squeezing or braking force is applied on the sides of the wheel. The wheels 17 exhibit a tendency to rise upwardly over the traffic rail 11 and ride on top of the braking rails 15 if the wheels encounter an excessive amount of braking pressure as the wheels enter the mouth of the retarder system.

The cradle portion 45 of each leve 25 has a central hump or rounded projection with a surface 46 in engagement with the under surface of a flange 48 of the rail 11. In addition to the suporting surface 46 of the flange 48 of a rail 11, the cradle 45 for the rail 11 has an overhanging lip or flange 49 forming a pocket 50 with surface 46. Positioned in the pocket 50 is that portion of the flange 48 remote from the abrasion rail 15 carried by the lever 25. Since the opposed levers 25 both have these overhanging flanges 49 on opposite sides of the trafiic rail 11, the pockets 50 serve in the aggregate to hold the traffic rail 11 against both lateral movements and rotational movements on the rounded surfaces 46 of their respective cradles 45. The flanges 49 also are important from the standpoint that when the retarder system 13 is actuated to an ineffective position, the flanges 49 assure that the railway rail 11 is held on the surface of the railway ties when the car wheels 17 pass thereover. That is, the flanges 4'9 secure the trafiic rail 11 against lateral or rotational movement when the braking rails are no longer in position to giude the redway wheel 17.

It will be remembered that the levers 25 are positioned on portions 26 of the rock shafts 27 and that portions 26 of the shafts 27 are eccentric to the turning axis of the rock shaft 27. Thus, when the rock shafts 27 are rotated, the eccentrics 26 turn and rotate levers 25 from the cooked or actuated rail-engaging position shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 to the released position shown in FIG. 5 wherein the braking rails 15 are spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the railway wheel thereby rendering the retarder system 13 inoperative.

For the purpose of turning the eccentrics 26, a hydraulic cylinder '60 is slung beneath the levers 25. One end of the cylinder '60 is provided with a bifurcated portion 61 fastened by a pin 62 to a crank arm 63 on one of the rock shafts 27. The piston rod 65 of the cylinder is connected by a pin 67 to a bifurcated link 66 on a crank arm 68 fastened to the opposite rock shaft 27. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the crank arms 63 and 68 are rigidly secured to the rock shafts 27. Upon being moved by expansion or contraction of the hydraulic cylinder 60, arms 63 and 68 cause the rock shafts 27 to rotate on the angles 70 capping and protecting the edges of a pair of adjacent ties 10. The rock shafts 27 are provided with a pair of enlarged diameter ring portions 72 for engagement with a vertical portion of an angle 70 to prevent lateral movement of the rock shafts 27 and thereby maintain the rock shafts in alignment and prevent their being canted under the forces being exerted on the rock shafts 27 by the hydraulic cylinder 60 and by the levers 25.

It should be noted that each of the levers 25 is independent of the other levers except that opposed levers 25 are joined in a esnse by a common hydraulic cylinder 60. Where the levers 25 are not to be remotely controlled, the cylinders 60 could be eliminated and the levers made more independent of one another.

When the retarder system 13 is in an operative position for slowing down or stopping a car, each of the hydraulic cylinders 60 will have been actuated to its expanded position shown in FIG. 4. The respective crank arms 63 and 68 prevent any outward rolling of the rock shafts 27 alongthe ties 10 under the lateral forces or being exerted thereon through the braking rails 15 as the car wheel 17 passes through the abrasion rails 15. Thus, the hydraulic cylinders 60 not .only function to expand or contract the abrasion rails 15, but also serve as a mean to inter-connect the opposed pair or levers 25 and rock shafts-27 to prevent their outward movement relative to one another.

As described hereinbefore, rotation of the crank arms 63 and 68 in response to actuating the hydraulic cylinder 60 to its expanded position, shown in FIG. 4, causes the eccentrics 26 to turn and rotate the levers 25 to move the opposed braking rails 15 toward one another. The amount of the rotation of the levers 25 and thereby the movement of the braking rails 15 toward or away from each other is limited to a predetermined amount of movement by individual stop elements 75 on each of the eccentrics 26 rotating into engagement with an aligned stop element 76 on an associated lever arm 25. The stop elements 75 are arcuate rings secured to the circum ferential surface of an eccentric 26 and are spaced from the flat, vertical side wall of the associated lever 25. The

stop elements 76 on each of the levers 25 is an arcuate ringlike segment, FIG. 7, secured at the outer rounded portion of the lever arm 25 by welding or the like and extending axially into alignment with and for engagement with the stop element 75 on its respectively associated eccentric 26. It should be noted that arcuate stop elements 75 may also be secured about the opening 28A so as to limit the movement of the eccentric 26 when the eccentric is disposed in opening 28A rather than in an opening 28.

When a brake rail 15 is moved to its maximum retarding position, its associated cylinder rod 65 is completely extended and the rock shaft 27 is rotated to move its stop surface 78 into engagement with an aligned stop surface 79 on the stop element 76 on associated lever 25. Conversely when the retarder i opened fully to its released position of FIG. 5, opposed stop surfaces 81 on the rock shafts 27 are in engagement with aligned stop surfaces on the stop elements 76 of the levers 25. Therefore, it will be seen that the stop elements 75 and 76 limit the amount of rotation of the rock shafts 27 and lever arms 25 and thereby limit the retarder rails 15 to predetermine amounts of opening and closing movements.

Limiting the amount of the rotation of the levers 25 is advantageous in that if one of the levers 25 is reluctant to rotate, all of the force being generated by the hydraulic cylinder 60 is directed to rotating this unwilling to move lever 25, since the other lever is being prevented from further rotation by engagement of the stops 75 and 76. Thus, rather than having one braking rail 15 move too far in one direction, with little or no movement of the other braking rail 15, the one rail is limited in its movement and all of the hydraulic force is concentrated to move the other rail to its proper position. Additionally, since the stop elements 75 and 76 limit the amount of the rotation of levers 25, this serves to stabilize and lock in position the traffic rail 11 disposed on the sup porting surfaces 46 of the levers 25.

While the opposed flanges 49 on the respective cradles 45 of the opposed levers 25 generally confine the traffic rail 11 against unlimited lateral movement, it is preferred to further restrict lateral movement of the tratiic rail 11 and to maintain the traflic rails 11 at a proper gauge by a stabilizer or gauging means such as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. For this purpose, the gauging means may employ, as shown in FIG. 8, a stabilizer rod 82 which has a first end 83 formed into a hook and hooked onto the outer or field side of a traffic rail flange 48. A clamp 84 has a flange 86 overlying the inner flange of the rail 11 and a fastener secures the clamp 84 to the rod 82. At the opposie end of the stabilizer rod 82 is a pair of oppositely facing, hooked shaped blocks and 91. The blocks 90 and 91 have their hooked shaped portions hooked on the opposite sides of the rail flange of the trafiic rail 11. Threaded lock nuts are turned on oppositely threaded portions 88 and on the stabilizer rod to secure the blocks 90 and 91 against outward movement from the flange. Thus, the spaced traffic rails 11 are secured to the stabilizer rod 82 to maintain the proper gauge distance between the rails 11.

Alternatively in FIG. 9, there is shown a beam type of gauging means, which has a pair of opposed clamps 94 clamped on opposite sides of the web portion 48 of a first rail 11. A pair of angles 95 are disposed on opposite sides of a beam 92 and are pivotally connected to the beam 92 by a threaded bolt and nut assembly 96. The pair of angles 95 carry at their opposite ends a pair of clamps 97 for securing the bottom flange 48 of the second traflic rail 11 against lateral movement. The pivotal connection between the beam 92 and the angles 95 permits the traffic rails 11 to rise vertically with respect to one another while maintaining the proper distance between center lines of the traflic rails. Thus, the

gauge is maintained, even though the traffic rails 11 are not secured to the railroad ties 10 in the normal fashion. Similarly the rod 82 flexes to permit relative vertical movement of either or both of the traffic rails 11 by a lever 25 while maintaining the gauge between traflic rails 11.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 17 and described herein above, each rock shaft 27 Sup ports only a single lever 25, and each hydraulic cylinder 60 is employed to actuate only one pair of opposed levers 25. In the embodiment of the invention of FIGS. 10-16 inclusive, and as best seen in FIG. 10, a single hydraulic cylinder 101 is operable to rotate a pair of opposed rock shafts 102, each of which has jo-urnaled on its outer ends a pair of operating levers 105 so that a single cylinder 101 operates two pairs of operating levers, that is four operating levers 105, rather than only two operating levers 25 as in the embodiment of the invention of FIGS. 1-7, inclusive.

In the embodiment of the invention hereinafter described, a pair of opposed traffic rails 11 is disposed on the conventional railroad ties 10, and on opposite sides of at least one of the traffic rails 11 is disposed a pair of spaced retarder or braking rails 15. The retarder rails are secured to the operating levers 105 by bolts 32, and nuts 33, FIG. 11 to the respective flanges 31 of a series of levers 105 in the same manner as the retarding rails 15 are secured to the operating levers of the previously described embodiment of the invention.

As can be readily seen from FIG. 11, the operating levers 105 are very similar to the operating levers 25 in appearance and perform the same functions as the operating levers 25. Thus, each of the operating levers 105 has a first opening 28 for receiving a portion of the rock shaft 102, and a second inner opening 28A as an alternative opening for receiving a portion of the rock shaft 102. Also, the operating levers 105 have rail supporting portions or cradles 45 having opposed flanges 49 overlying the lower flange 48 of the traffic rail 11. Additionally, each of the operating levers 105 has a seat 37 for receiving a wedge for adjustably positioning its respective retarder rail 15. I

However, the operating levers 105 differ from the operating levers 25 is that each of the operating levers 105 is a cast member of non-uniform cross-section. More specifically, the operating levers 105 have a narrow interior, web portion 112 and a circumscribing outer, thicker cross-sectional, rib portion 113, this being in contrast to the uniform cross-sectional plate [from which the operating levers 25 are formed. Also, the limiting stop elements 76 for limiting rotation are integrally cast on the operating levers 105 about the openings 28 and 28A for engagement by arcuate stop elements on the rock shafts 102, as will be described in detail hereinafter.

In contrast to the relatively simple shape of the rock shaft 27 employed in the embodiment of the invention in the FIGS. 1-7, which shape is basically that of a circular shaft with a single eccentric portion 26 andan integral crank arm 68 or 63, the rock shaft 102 is of a more complex configuration, as will be seen by examination of FIGS. 13-16, inclusive. Each of the rock shafts 102 has at its opposed extremities, cylindrical portion or ends 116 for insertion in either of the openings 28 or 28A in a lever 105 to rotatably mount the operating levers 105. As best seen in FIGS. 14, 15 and 16, the center line 118 of the cylindrical portions 116 is displaced, that is, offset leftwardly of rotational center line 119 of the remainder of the rock shaft 102. Since a rock shaft 102 rotates about its axis 119 and since the cylindrical portions 116 are offset from the rotational axis 119 of the rock shafts 102, the cylindrical portions 116 function in the manner of the eccentrics with rotation of the rock shaft 102.

Each of the rock shafts 102 is supported by a pair of spaced ties 10, FIG. 12, and has a lower rounded lobe or portion 122 having its outer peripheral surface disposed in rolling contact with a metallic support plate 123 disposed on the upper side of an associated support ing railroad tie 10. The rock shafts 102 are prevented from moving axially of the ties 10 by dependent arcuate members 124 disposed to fit between and in close proximity to the inwardly facing vertical faces of a pair of ties 10 and supporting plates 123.

Throughout most of its length the rock shaft 102 has a generally I cross section like that of an I beam rather than the circular cross section of the rock shaft 27. The I cross section is constituted by an upper horizontal flange 125, a vertical web portion 126, and a lower lateral or horizontal flange portion 127, FIGS. 13-16, inclusive.

As best seen in FIG. 14, both the rounded portion 122 and lower flange 127 are similar in shape in that each has a lower arcuate surface rounded into flat horizontal walls 132 flaring to the central and vertical web 126.

For the purpose of receiving a rocking force to rotate the rock shaft 102, the rock shaft 102 has at the center thereof a downwardly extending crank arm 135, the crank arm 135 being intergrally formed with the shaft 102. The crank arm 135 has an aperture 136 in its lower end to receive a clevis pin 137, FIGS. 11 and 12, of a clevis 138 on the hydraulic cylinder 101 or cylinder rod 145.

As seen in FIG. 10, a pair of common supply and return hydraulic lines 140 extends longitudinally of the series of hydraulic cylinders 101 and is connected thereto by individual supply and return lines 142 and 144 whereby the hydraulic cylinders 101 can be actuated by fluid to move their respective piston rods 145 to either an extended or returned positions relative to the cylinder. While the hydraulic cylinders 60 and 101 employing only a single rod 65 or 145 have proved eminently satisfactory, a double acting cylinder 170, FIG. 19, can be employed in lieu of the single acting cylinder 145 or 60. The hydraulic cylinder has a pair of opposed pistons 171 and piston rod 172 secured by clevises 173 to crank arms 135. The hydraulic cylinders 170 are secured by a strap or bracket 174 to the traffic rail 11 for the purpose of limiting the movement of the flexible hose lines 142 and 144 have a noticeable amount of movement with a single acting hydraulic cylinder 60 or 145, as the hydraulic cylinder moves transversely to move the retarding elements 15 between cocked and released positions. The hydraulic cylinders 60, 145 and 170 can be provided with a pressure relief valve 175, FIG. 19, for the purpose or releasing the hydraulic fluid to permit the wheels of an extremely heavy car to pass through the retarder without causing damage thereto. More specifically, when a car having a weight exceeding the nominal capacity of the retarder enters between the retarding rails 15, the car may be of sulficient weight to prevent the traflic rail 11 from raising and the braking rails 15 moving apart. The force exerted on the levers by such a heavy car will be transmitted to the piston rods and the hydraulic fluid between the pistons causing the hydraulic pressure to rise above the pressure at which the relief valve 175 is effective to prevent escape of hydraulic fluid. The relief valve 175 releases and permits the piston rod or rods to move inwardly and the rock shafts to rotate on the ties thereby moving the retarding rails 15 apart and preventing damage to the retarder system.

As best seen in FIGS. 10 and 12, the operating levers 105 are preferably disposed in pairs opposite each other and on opposite sides of the traffic rail 11; and the operating levers 105 are staggered longitudinally of one another, that is, one of the levers 105 is positioned closer to the outer edge 146 of an associated railroad tie 10 than is the other lever 105. To permit this staggered relationship, the end portions of the rock shafts are asymmetrical. Thus, as best seen in FIG, 13, the portion of the shaft 102 extending rightwardly of the right dependent 9 member 124 is longer in length than the corresponding portion of the shaft 102 extending leftwardly of the left dependent member 24. A comparison of the respective lengths of the segments 122 in FIG. 13 will disclose that the rightmost segment 122 is longer than the leftmost segment 122.

Each of the levers 105 has a retaining pin 128, FIG. 11, therein which extends from the lever 105 towards the adjacent rounded portion 131 of the adjacent lever 105. The retaining pins 128 thus prevent the movement of the levers 105 to disengage their respective hooked portions 49 from the flange of the rail 48 until the retaining pin 128 in the adjacent lever 105 is removed.

For the purpose of limiting rotation of the rock shaft 102, each of the segments 122 terminates in an integral stop segment 150, FIG. 13, which is adapted to be aligned for coacting with the stop segments 76 on the levers 105 in the same manner that the stop segments 75 on the eccentrics 26 cooperated with the stop elements 76 on the lever 25. As best seen in FIG. 14, each of the stop segments 150 on the shaft 102 has a lower stop surface 151 land an upper stop surface 152, which are vertically oriented when the rock shaft 102 is in the position of FIG. 14. Rotation of the rock shaft to a cocked position rotates the stop segment 150 to bring its lower stop surface 151 into engagement with the stop surface 79 of the stop element 76 on the operating lever 105, FIG. 11. Conversely, the upper stop surface 152 rotates into engagement with the upper end of the upper stop surface 80 of the stop element 76 on the lever 105 when the retarder is in its open or retracted position.

The traflic rail 11 is not secured to the ties 10, as is the usual case, but is free floating and is adapted to be lifted by the cradle portions 45 as the retarding rails 15 are moved further apart by a car wheel. While the cradle portions 45 of the levers 25 and 105 confine lateral movement of the traffic rail 11 to a limited degree, it is nonetheless preferable to afford a separate gauge or rail guide 160, FIGS. 17 and 18 to limit lateral movement of the traffic rail 11 and thereby maintain the proper distance between traffic rails 11 even as one or both of the traflic rails move vertically.

The rail guide 160 for the traffic rail 11 has vertically rising guide walls 162 for engaging and guiding the side edges of the lower flange 48 of the traffic rail 11. Thus, as the traffic rail 11 is moved vertically, the flange 48 slides vertically along the upstanding walls 162, and the trafiic rail 11 is prevented from moving laterally so as to disrupt the gauge, that is, the distance between the pair of traffic rails 11. The rail guide 160 has openings therein to receive spikes for fastening the rail guide 160 to a tie and a plurality of these rail guides 160 are provided at spaced intervals along each of the traflic rails 11. The rail guides 160 function to maintain the gauge between the traffic rails 11 as do the gauging means shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The operation of the retarder system (shown in FIG. 10) is briefly recapitulated hereinafter. With the piston rods 145 of the cylinders 101 extended outwardly of the cylinders 101 in the manner shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the opposed crank arms 135 on the opposed rock shafts 102 are rotated outwardly away from each other, and rotate the rounded portions 122 of the rock shaft 102 about their respective rotational axes 119 so that the eccentrically positioned end portions 116 carrying the levers 105 rotate about this axis 119 to bring the respective retarding rails closer to one another and into the cocked position of FIG. 11. The fluid in cylinder 101 holds the rock shaft 102 and levers 105 in this position so long as a retarding operation is desired.

When a wheel of a railroad car enters between the retarding rails 15 of the retarder system of 'FIG. 10, the sides of the wheel force the retarding rails 15 apart, and in so doing rotate the levers 105 about the eccentrics 116 and the rotational axis 118 to cause their respective cradle portions 45 to lift the traflic rail vertically. The retarder system applies a braking force proportional to the weight of the load of the railroad car, since a heavily loaded car will resist the upward movement of the traffic rail 11 with a greater force than would a railroad car carrying a lighter load. T hns, the heavier car, by resisting upward movement of the traflic rail 11, causes the levers and braking rails 15 to exert a greater frictional force on the sides of the car wheel than the frictional force applied to the wheels of a lightly loaded car.

When fluid is admitted into the cylinder 101 to drive the piston rod rightwardly, as viewed in FIG. 11, the crank arms 135 have their end portions 116 rotated downwardly and towards each other about the rotational axis 119 of their respective rock shafts 102. Thus, the eccentries 116 move the operating levers 105 about the rotational axis 119 so as to move the retarding rails 15 away from each other to a released position at which the braking rails 15 are spaced so as not to engage the sides of a car wheel passing therebetween. Rotation of the rock shafts 102 is stopped when a stop surface 152 of the stops on the rock shafts 102 engage the stop surfaces on the stops 76 to prevent further opening of the retarder system and movement of the retarding rails 15 away from each other.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention employs a plurality of one-piece, ruggedly constructed, and independent operating levers 25 or 105,

which serves both to carry the braking rails 15 and to afford a means for affording a proportional braking force for the freight car. That is, the operating levers afford a proportioning device whereby the amount of frictional retarding force employed against the railway wheel 17 is made dependent upon the weight of the car being supported by the traffic rail 11.

The ruggedness and simplicity of the supporting seat 37 and wedge 35 for the braking rails 15 provides .a positive means for transmitting the lateral thrust to the levers. The rock shafts afford a simple and readily installable support which does not require precise positioning on the ties or track bed relative to the traflic rail 11. Also, neither the rock shafts nor the operating levers are secured to the ties so as to move therewith and hence be subject to becoming misaligned with a shift in position of the ties. The hydraulic cylinder 60 and eccentrics on the rock shafts provide a simple and readily effective mechanism for moving the braking rails to and from operative and inoperative positions. The hydraulic cylinder 60 also performs an additional function of preventing the outward movement of the opposed rock shafts under the outward forces exerted by the braking rails 15 when a railway car wheel 17 is passing therebetween.

In view of the relatively few number of elements employed herein and their rugged construction, the present retarder system is a low-cost and eflicient retarder system requiring a minimum of maintenance or up-keep.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A traffic retarder system for retarding the movement of railroad cars therethrough and for applying a retarding force proportional to the weight of the railroad car moving therethrough, said system including a traflic rail for supporting at least one wheel of the railway car passing through said system and for bearing the weight of the wheel and railway car supported thereby; a series of independent levers spaced along said traflic rail and on opposite sides of said traflic rail, each of said levers being independent of every other lever, a first integral, arcuate portion on each of said levers disposed beneath said rail for engagement therewith to lift said rail, a plurality of shaft means each supported on railroad ties and pivotally mounting at least one of said levers, a second integral portion of each of said levers extending to the side of said traflic rail opposite its pivotal mounting on said shaft means, and means on said second integral portion adapted to overlie the flange of said traffic rail to limit downward movement of said lever; a first retarder rail carried by the series of levers on one side of the traflic rail, said first retarder rail being positioned adjacent said traffic rail to engage a side of the wheel of the railway car passing over said traffic rail and to cause said series of levers to lift said traffic rail as said railway wheel attempts to move said retarder rail, a second retarder rail carried by the series of levers on the other side of said traflic rail, said second retarder rail being positioned adjacent said trafiic rail to engage and to engaged by a side of the Wheel of the railway car, said first and second retarder rails being spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railway wheel when there is no railway wheel forcing said retarder rails to move apart and pivot said series of independent levers to lift the traffic rail as said railway wheel passes over the traffic rail in said system.

2. A trafiic retarder system for retarding the movement of railroad cars therethrough and for applying a retarding force proportional to the weight of the railroad car moving therethrough, said system including a traflic rail for supporting at least one wheel of the railway car passing through said system and for bearing the weight of the wheel and railway car supported thereby; a series of independent lever means spaced along said traffic rail and on opposite sides of said trafiic rail, each of said lever means being independent of every other lever means and having a portion thereof supporting said traffic rail, each of said lever means being pivotally mounted and adapted to raise and lower said traflic rail; 21 first retarder rail carried by the series of lever means on one side of the tratfic rail, said first retarder rail being positioned adjacent said traffic rail to engage a side of the wheel of the railway car passing over said traflic rail and to cause said series of lever means to lift said traffic rail as said railway wheel attempts to move said retarder rail, a second retarder rail carried by the series of lever means on the other side of said trafiic rail, said second retarder rail being positioned adjacent said traffic rail to engage and to be engaged by a side of the wheel of the railway car, said first and second retarder rails being spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railway wheel when there is no railway wheel forcing said retarder rails to move apart and pivot said series of independent lever means to lift the traffic rail as said railway wheel passes over the traffic rail in said system, a plurality of rock shafts for pivotally mounting said lever means, each of said rock shafts being supported by the adjacent railway ties, said rock shafts having eccentric portions thereon for pivotally supporting said lever means whereby rotation of said shafts and said eccentrics thereon causes said lever means to move its corresponding retarder rail.

3. A traffic retarder system for retarding the movement of railroad cars therethrough and for applying a retarding force proportional to the weight of the railroad car moving therethrough, said system including a traffic rail for supporting at least one wheel of the railway car passing through said system and for bearing the weight of the wheel and railway car supported thereby; a series of independent lever means spaced along said traffic rail and on opposite sides of said traflic rail, each of said lever means being independent of every other lever means and having a portion thereof supporting said traffic rail, each of said lever means being pivotally mounted and adapted to raise and lower said traffic rail; a first retarder rail carried by the series of lever means on one side of the traflic rail, said first retarder rail being positioned adjacent said traffic rail to engage a side of the wheel of the railway car passing over said traffic rail and to cause said series of lever means to lift said traffic rail as said railway wheel attempts to move said retarder rail, a second retarder rail carried by the series of lever means on the other side of said traffic rail, said second retarder rail being positioned adjacent said traffic rail to engage and to be engaged by a side of the wheel of the railway car, said first and second retarder rails being spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railway wheel when there is no railway wheel forcing said retarder rails to move apart and pivot said series of independent lever means to lift the trafiic rail as said railway wheel passes over the traific rail in said system, a plurality of rock shafts for pivotally mounting said lever means, each of said rock shafts being supported by the adjacent railway ties, said rock shafts having eccentric portions thereof for pivotally supporting said lever means whereby rotation of said shafts and said eccentrics thereon causes said lever means to move its corresponding retarder rail, and means for rotating said rock shafts and causing said eccentrics to rotate said lever means to move said retarder rails to effective and ineffective positions.

4. In combination with a traffic rail for supporting a wheel of a railway car, a retarder means for slowing down the movement of said railway car, a pair of spaced retarding rails positioned on each side of said railway wheel and of said traflic rail, said retarding rails being positioned for engagement with the sides of the railway wheel passing over said traffic rail, at least one pair of independent unitary levers spaced on each side of said traffic rail, each of said levers supporting a retarding rail, a plurality of shaft means each pivotally mounting at least one of said levers, said levers each being pivotable when said retarding rails are moved laterally outwardly from said frame rail, each of said levers having an arcuate and integral portion on each of said levers extending beneath the trafiic rail and for lifting said traffic rail as said levers pivot in response to outward movement of said retarding rails, and flange means integrally formed on each of said levers and overlying a top flange of said traflic rail on the side opposite from respectively associated retarder rail.

5. In a car retarder system having a center traffic rail disposed on railroad ties for supporting the car Wheel of a railroad car and having a pair of opposed retarder rails positioned for spreading apart by the movement of the car wheel therebetween and for retarding the movement of the railway car therebetween by frictionally engaging the sides of the car wheel with a force proportional to the weight of the railroad car, said retarder system employing a series of one-piece, identically-shaped lever means pivotally mounted on shafts carried by adacent railroad ties on opposite sides of the traffic rail, said lever means each having an upper and integral portion for securing and for supporting a retarder rail, a central portion for pivotally mounting on said shafts and about which said lever means rotates in a first direction in response to movement of said lever means by outward movement of a secured retarder rail by said railway wheel, and an integral lower portion having an arcuate surface for supporting said traffic rail and for lifting said traflic rail in response to rotation of said lever means in said first direction, said lower portion extending beneath the rail to the opposite side of the traffic rail from its pivotal mounting and having an integrally formed flange adapted to overlie the flange of the traffic rail and to limit the downward movement of its lever, said lower portion being urged downwardly by the weight of the railway wheel to pivot about its center portion and urge a retarder rail against the side of the car wheel.

6. In a car retarder system having a center traffic rail disposed on railroad ties for supporting the car wheel of a railroad car and having a pair of opposed retarder rails positioned for spreading apart by the movement of the car wheel therebetween and for retarding the movement of the railway car therebetween by frictionally engaging the sides of the car wheel with a force proportional to the weight of the railroad car, said retarder system employing a series of monolithic, identicallyshaped lever means pivotally mounted on shafts carried by adjacent railroad ties on opposite sides of the trafiic rail, said lever means having an upper portion for securing and for supporting a retarder rail, a central portion for pivotally mounting on said shaft means and about which said lever means rotates in a first direction in response to movement of said lever means by outward movement of a secured retarder rail by said railway wheel, and a lower portion for supporting said traific rail and for lifting said traflic rail in response to rotation of said lever means in said first direction, said lower portion being urged downwardly by the weight of the railway wheel to pivot about its center portion and urge a retarder rail against the side of the car wheel, said lever means having a seat for a wedge means having one surface engaged with said seat in engagement with said retarder rail secured to said lever means so that the retarder rail can be forced to move closer to the trafiic rail by movement of said wedge means in said seat to compensate for reduced thickness of a retarder rail due to wear, and a clamping means to clamp said retarder rail to said lever means.

7. In a car retarder system having a center traffic rail disposed on railroad ties for supporting the car wheel of a railroad car and having a pair of opposed retarder rails positioned for spreading apart by the movement of the car wheel therebetween and for retarding the movement of the railway car therebetween by frictionally engaging the sides of the car wheel with a force proportional to the weight of the railroad car, said retarder system employing a series of monolithic, identicallyshaped lever means pivotally mounted on shafts carried by adjacent railroad ties on opposite sides of the traffic rail, said lever means having an upper portion for securing and for supporting a retarder rail, a central portion for pivotally mounting on said shaft means and about which said lever means rotates in a first direction in response to movement of said lever means by outward movement of a secured retarder rail by said railway wheel, and a lower portion for supporting said trafiic rail and for lifting said traffic rail in response to rotation of said lever means in said first direction, said lower portion being urged downwardly by the weight of the railway wheel to pivot about itsicenter portion and urge a retarder rail against the side of the car wheel, said lever means having a seat, a wedge means having one surface engaged with said seat and another surface in engagement with said retarder rail secured to said lever means so that the retarder rail can be forced to move closer to the traffic rail by movement of said wedge means in said seat to compensate for reduced thickness of a retarder rail due to wear, a clamping means to clamp said retarder rail to said lever means, said lever means being adapted to be remotely moved to an open position whereby the retarder rails are not effective to engage the sides of the railway wheel passing over said traffic rail and to be moved to an effective position where 'said retarder rails are positioned for engagement with the sides of the railway wheels, said lever means including an overhanging portion adapted to engage the upper side of the traific rail opposite the side on which its respective retarder railis being supported.

8. In a car retarder system having a center trafiic rail disposed on railroad ties for supporting the car wheel of a railroad car and having a pair of opposed retarder rails positioned for spreading apart by the movement of the car wheel therebetween and for retarding the movement of the railway car therebetween by "frictionally engaging the sides of the car wheel with a force proportional to the weight of the railroad car, said retarder system employing a series of monolithic, identically-shaped lever means pivotally mounted on shafts carried by adjacent railroad ties on opposite sides of the traflic rail, said lever means having an upper portion for securing and for supporting a retarder rail, a central portion for pivotally mounting on said shaft means and about which said lever means rotates in a first direction in response to movement of said lever means by outward movement of a secured retarder rail by said railway wheel, and a lower portion for supporting said trafiic rail and for lifting said traific rail in response to rotation of said lever means in said first direction, said lower portion being urged downwardly by the weight of the railway wheel to pivot about its center portion and urge a retarder rail against the side of the car wheel, said lever means having a seat, a wedge means having one surface engaged with said seat and another surface in engagement with said retarder rail secured to said lever means so that the retarder rail can be forced to move closer to the trafiic rail by movement of said wedge means in said seat to compensate for reduced thickness of a retarder rail due to Wear, a clamping means to clamp said retarder rail to said lever means, said lever means adapted to be remotely moved to an open position whereby the retarder rails are not effective to engage the sides of the railway wheel passing over said traffic rail and to be moved to an effective position Where said retarder rails are positioned for engagement with the sides of the railway wheels, said lever means including an overhanging portion adapted to engage the upper side of the trafiic rail opposite the side on which its respective retarder rail is being supported, rock shafts positioned on adjacent ties and having eccentric portions thereon for mounting one of said lever means, and operable means connected to rotate said rock shafts to rotate said eccentric portions and thereby to rotate said lever means to an effective or ineffective position.

9. In a car retarder system having a center traific rail disposed on railroad ties for supporting the car wheel of a railroad car and having a pair of opposed retarder rails positioned for spreading apart by the movement of the car wheel therebetween and for retarding the movement of the railway car therebetween by frictionally engaging the sides of the car wheel with a force proportional to the weight of the railroad car, said retarder system employing a series of monolithic, identically-shaped lever means pivotally mounted on shafts carried by adjacent railroad ties on opposite sides of the traflfic rail, said lever means having an upper portion for securing and for supporting a retarder rail, a central portion for pivotally mounting on said shaft means and about which said lever means rotates in a first direction in response to movement of said lever means by outward movement of a secured retarder rail by said railway wheel, and a lower portion for supporting said trafiic rail and for lifting said traflic rail in response to rotation of said lever means in said first direction, said lower portion being urged downwardly by the weight of the railway wheel to pivot about its center portion and urge a retarder rail against the side of the car wheel, said lever means having a seat, a wedge means having one surface engaged with said seat and another surface in engagement with said retarder rail secured to said lever means so that the retarder rail can be forced to move closer to the traffic rail by movement of said wedge means in said seat to compensate for reduced thickness of a retarder rail due to wear, a clamping means to clamp said retarder rail to said lever means, said lever means adapted to be remotely moved to an open position whereby the retarder rails are not effective to engage the sides of the railway wheel passing over said traffic rail and to be moved to an effective position Where said retarder rails are positioned for engagement with the sides of the railway wheels, said lever means including an overhanging portion adapted to engage the upper side of the trafiic rail opposite the side on which its respective retarder rail is being supported, rock shafts positioned on adjacent ties and having eccentric portions thereon for mounting one of said lever means, operable means connected to rotate said rock shafts to rotate said eccentric portions and thereby to rotate said lever means to an effective or ineffective position, said rock shafts having end portions guided for lateral movement across the upper surface of the adjacent railway ties, said rock shafts being held against movement by said remotely operable means when said retarder rails are in the effective position to frictionally engage the sides of the railway wheel.

10. In a car retarder system for retarding the movement of railroad cars moving therethrough, and for applying a retarding force proportional to the weight of the railroad car; said system including a pair of spaced shaft means disposed on opposite sides of a traffic rail over which the railroad car passes, said spaced shaft means each having a spaced eccentric portion; one-piece lever means rotatably supported on one of said eccentric portions of said shaft means; friction retarding elements secured to each of said lever means, said lever means being operable to rotate to a position to engage said retarding elements against a wheel of a railroad car passing over said traffic rail and operable to apply a frictional retarding force thereto; means on each of said lever means adapted to underlie the traffic rail and in response to outward movement of said friction elements to lift said traffic rail; and an operating means for rotating said shaft means and the eccentrics thereon to pivot said lever means between positions where said friction retarding elements are spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railroad wheel and to a distance spaced apart greater than the width of a railroad wheel.

11. The car retarder of claim wherein said friction element is adjustable relative to said lever means, said car retarder including clamping means for clamping said friction retarding element to said lever means to hold said friction retarding element associated therewith in an adjusted position, and means disposed between said friction element and a portion of said lever means to transmit a portion of the force exerted by a car wheel on a friction element to the lever means.

12. The car retarder of claim 11 wherein said lever means and said friction retarder element have openings adapted to be aligned with each other, said clamping means including bolt means inserted in said openings to clamp said retarder friction element in an adjusted position, said means for holding the friction retarder element being disposed in a seat formed in said lever means.

13. In the car retarder system of claim 10, said shaft means having a stop thereon, said lever means having a stop thereon engageable with said stop of said shaft means to limit the amount of rotation of said shaft means to a predetermined amount of rotation.

14. In a traffic retarder apparatus disposed on railroad ties for applying a retarding force to the wheels of a railroad car, said retarder force being proportional to the weight of the car, said apparatus including a traffic rail for supporting at least one wheel of the railroad car, and said traffic rail resting on railroad ties and being free for movement; a pair of opposed shafts, each of said shafts being disposed on opposite sides of the traffic rail and being disposed on said railroad ties for rotational movement on said ties; a plurality of independent operating levers, at least one of said independent operating levers pivotally mounted on each of said shafts for rotation about said shaft, each of said independent levers having an integral and arcuate portion thereon disposed in engagement with said traffic rail to lift said traffic rail when said lever is rotated in a first direction, each of said levers extending beneath the traffic rail and to the opposite side of the traffic rail from its pivotal mounting, hook means on each of said levers at said opposite side of the traffic rail for engagement with a flange of the traffic rail to limit downward pivotal movement of its respective lever when said traffic rail is resting on said ties; wheel engaging means for applying the retarding force to wheels of a railroad car, said wheel engaging means secured individually to said levers on opposite sides of said traffic rail and adapted to be spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railroad car wheel so that a car wheel entering the space between said opposed wheel engaging means causes said wheel engaging means to exert a force tending to rotate the independent levers in said first direction to lift the traffic rail, the lifting of the traffic rail being resisted by the weight of the railroad car on said traffic rail.

15. In a traffic retarder apparatus for applying a retarding force to the Wheels of a railroad car: a pair of opposed shaft means; a shaft means being disposed on opposite sides of the traffic rail and disposed for rocking movement on said railroad ties about a first axis; a plurality of independent operating levers, at least one of said independent operating levers pivotally mounted on each of said shaft means for rotation about a second axis on said shaft means, wheel engaging means for applying the retarding force to wheels of a railroad car, said wheel engaging means secured individually to said operating levers on opposite sides of said traffic rail, said wheel engaging means adapted to be spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railroad car wheel so that a car wheel entering the space between said opposed wheel engaging means causes said wheel engaging means to exert a force tending to rotate the operating levers to move the wheel engaging means farther apart, and to lift the traffic rail, the Weight of the railroad car on said wheel resisting the lifting of said traffic rail; a rounded portion on each of said shaft means in engagement with said ties and adapted to be rocked on said ties so as to rotate said shaft means about said first axis on each of said shaft means; and an actuating means disposed between the opposed shaft means so as to rotate said shaft means about their respective rounded portions and first axes of rotation and moving said axes of rotation for said operating levers toward said traffic rail to bring said wheel engaging means to an operative wheel engaging position, said actuating means operable to rotate said shaft means in an opposite direction about their respective rounded portions and said first axes to move said axes of rotation for said levers away from the traffic rail so that the opposed wheel engaging means on said levers move apart to inoperative, non-Wheel engaging positions.

16. In a traffic retarder apparatus for applying a retarding force to the wheels of a railroad car, said apparatus including a traffic rail for supporting at least one wheel of the railroad car, and said traflic rail being adapted to move vertically wtih respect to the railroad ties, a pair of opposed shafts, each of said shafts disposed on opposite sides of the traffic rail and disposed for rocking movement on said railroad ties; a plurality of independent levers, at least one of said independent levers pivotally mounted on each of said shafts for rotation about said shaft, each of said levers having a portion thereon disposed in engagement with said traffic rail to lift said trafiic rail when said lever is rotated in a first direction and to permit said traffic rail to move down- Wardly when said levers rotate in the opposite direction; a pair of spaced retarding rails, each of said retarding rails secured to those independent levers on the same side of the traflic rail as the levers; said traffic rails movable to a first position for applying a retarding force to the wheels of a railroad car wherein the retarding rails are spaced apart a distance less than the Width of a railroad car wheel so that a car wheel entering the space between said opposed wheel engaging means causes said wheel engaging means to exert a force tending to rotate the levers to move the wheel engaging means further apart and concomitantly to lift the traffic rail, the lifting of the traffic rail being resisted by the weight of the railroad car; an actuating arm for each of said shafts and disposed downwardly between a pair of adjacent railroad ties; an

17 operating means secured between a pair of opposed actuating arms, said operating means adapted to rotate said actuating arms and their associated shafts to move the first pivotal axis of said independent levers closer to said trafric rail and thereby to move said retarding rails to the operative wheel engaging position; said operating means being operative to rotate said opposed acuating arms to rotate said shafts on said ties and thereby to rotate the axes for said independent levers on the opposed shafts farther apart so that said retarder rails are dis posed in an inoperative position.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein each of said shafts has a stop element thereon and rotatable therewith, and wherein each of said levers has a stop surface thereon adapted to contact a stop element on its associated shaft to limit rotation between an associated shaft and stop element. i

18. A retarder apparatus for applying a frictional force to a wheel of a railroad car moving over a trafiic rail, said traflic rail being adapted to move vertically with respect to the railroad ties, said retarder apparatus being unsecured to said ties and unsecured to said trafl'lc rail, said retarder apparatus including a pair of opposed shaft means disposed on said ties on opposite sides of said traflic rail and adapted for rotation on said ties; a pair of levers pivoted on the end portions of each of the opposed shaft means for movement about an axis differing from the axis of rotation of said shaft means; a portion of each of said levers disposed beneath said traffic rail and adapted to lift said traffic rail againstthe Weight of the railroad car; braking means disposed on opposite sides of said traflic rail, each of said braking means being secured to levers on its side of the trafiic rail and adapted to be rotated about said shaft means as a car wheel moves between said braking means and lifts said traflic rail; and an operating means disposed between a pair of adjacent ties and disposed underneath the traffic rail and operatively connected to each of said shaft means to rotate said shaft means about their respective axes of rotation to move said end portions of said levers closer together to bring said braking means to a position wherein said braking means are spaced apart a distance less than the thickness of a car wheel, said operating means operable to rotate said shaft means and levers to move said brake means apart to a position where the brake means do not engage the sides of the car wheels.

19. In a traffic retarder apparatus for applying a retarding force to the wheels of a railroad car, said retarder force being proportional to the weight of the car, said apparatus including a traffic rail for supporting at least one wheel of the railroad car, and said traflic rail being free to move vertically with respect to the railroad ties; a pair of opposed shafts, each of said shafts being disposed on opposite sides of the traflic rail and being disposed for rotation on said railroad ties; a plurality of independent levers, at least one of said independent levers pivotally mounted on each of said shafts for rotation about said shaft, each of said independent levers having a portion thereon disposed for engagement with said traffic rail to lift said traflic rail when said lever is rotated in a first direction and to permit said traffic rail to move downwardly when said levers rotate in the opposite direction; wheel engaging means for applying the retarding force to wheels of the railroad car, said wheel engaging means secured individually to said levers on opposite sides of said traffic rail and adapted to be spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railroad car wheel so that a car wheel entering the space between said opposed wheel engaging means causes said wheel engaging means to exert a force tending to rotate the independent levers to move the Wheel engaging means further apart and concomitantly to lift the traflic rail, the lifting of the traffic rail being resisted by the weight of the railroad car; a fluid operating means disposed beneath said trafiic rail and connected to opposite ones of said shafts and being operable to rotate said shafts in a first direction to move said wheel engaging means to a position for applying the retarding force and being operable to rotate the shafts to move said wheel engaging means to a position where the wheel engaging means do not engage the sides of the wheel; and a pressure relief valve connected to said fluid operating means and operable to reduce the fluid pressure when said force being exerted by said levers on said fluid means exceeds a predetermined amount of force because of the weight of the railroad car moving over said traflic rail.

20. In a traflic retarder apparatus for applying a retarding force to the wheels of a. railroad car, said retarder force being proportional to the weight of the car, said apparatus including a traffic rail for supporting at least one wheel of the railroad car, and said traflic rail being adapted to move vertically with respect to the railroad ties, a pair of opposed shafts, each of said shafts being disposed on opposite sides of the trafiic rail and being disposed for rotation on said railroad ties; a plurality of independent levers, at least one of said independent levers pivotally mounted on each of said shafts for rotation about said shaft, each of said independent levers having a portion thereon disposed for engagement with said traffic rail to lift said traflic rail when said lever is rotated in a first direction and to permit said traflic rail to move downwardly when said levers rotate in the opposite direction; wheel engaging means for applying the retarding force to wheels of the railroad car, said wheel engaging means secured individually to said levers on opposite sides of said traflic rail and adapted to be spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railroad car wheel so that a car wheel entering the space between said opposed wheel engaging means causes said wheel engaging means to exert a force tending to rotate the independent levers to move the wheel engaging means further apart and concomitantly to lift the traffic rail, the lifting of the traffic rail being resisted by the weight of the railroad car, and a fluid op erating means including a cylinder having a pair of opposed pistons therein operably connected to opposed ones of said shafts for rotating said shafts and the levers thereon to move said wheel engaging means between an operative retarding position and an inoperative, open position at which said wheel engaging means are spaced apart a distance greater than the width of a railroad car wheel.

21. In a traffic retarder apparatus for applying a retarding force to the wheels of a railroad car, said retarder force being proportional to the weight of the car, said apparatus including a traffic rail for supporting at least one wheel of the railroad car, and said traflic rail being adapted to move vertically with respect to the railroad ties, a pair of opposed shafts, each of said shafts being disposed on opposite sides of the traflic rail and being disposed for rotation on said railroad ties; a plurality of independent levers, at least one of said independent levers pivotally mounted on each of said shafts for rotation about said shaft, each of said independent levers having a portion thereon disposed for engagement with said traflic rail to lift said traffic rail when said lever is rotated in a first direction and to permit said traflic rail to move downwardly when said levers rotate in the opposite direction; wheel engaging means for applying the retarding force to wheels of the railroad car, said wheel engaging means secured individually to said levers on opposite sides of said traffic rail and adapted to be spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railroad car wheel so that a car wheel entering the space between said opposed wheel engaging means causes said wheel engaging means to exert a force tending to rotate the independent levers to move the wheel engaging means further apart and concomitantly to lift the traffic rail, the lifting of the traffic rail being resisted by the weight of the railroad car; a hydraulic means disposed beneath said traflic rail and operatively connected to said shafts to rotate said shafts about a first axis different from the axis of rotation for said independent levers on said shafts so that rotation of said shafts in one direction moves the respective axes of rotation for said levers closer to the trafiic rail, and rotation of said shafts in the opposite direction moves said respective axes of rotation for said levers farther from said trafiic rail; and means depending from said traffic rail for securing said hydraulic means to limit the movement of said hydraulic cylinder in the direction of fluid movement in response to changes of fluid pressure within said hydraulic means.

22. A retarder apparatus for applying a frictional force to a wheel of railroad car moving over a traffic rail, said traffic rail being adapted to move vertically with respect to the railroad ties, said retarder apparatu being unsecured to said ties and unsecured to said trafiic rail, said retarder apparatus including a pair of opposed shaft means disposed on said ties on opposite sides of said traffic rail and adapted for rotation on said ties and about a first axis; a pair of levers pivoted on the end portions of each of the opposed shaft means for movement about a second axis differing from the axis of rotation of said shaft means; a portion of each of said levers disposed beneath said trafiic rail and adapted to lift said traffic rail against the weight of the railroad car; braking rails disposed on opposite sides of said trafiic rail, each of said braking rails being secured to said levers on its side of the traffic rail and adapted to be rotated about said shaft means as a car wheel moves between said braking means and thereby lift said traffic rail; and an operating means disposed between a pair of adjacent ties and disposed underneath the tratfic rail and operatively connected to each of said shaft means to rotate said shaft means about their respective first axes of rotation to move said axes of rotation for said levers closer together to bring said braking rails to a position wherein said braking rails are spaced apart a distance less than the thickness of a car wheel, said operating means operable to rotate said shaft means and said levers to move said braking rails apart to a position Where the braking rails do not engage the sides of the car wheels; and integrally formed stop means disposed on opposed portions of each of said shaft means adapted to rotate into engagement with a portion of an associated lever pivotally mounted adjacent to said stop means to limit the amount of rotation of said shaft means and thereby said braking means to predetermined amounts of rotation.

23. In a car retarder system for retarding the movement of railroad cars moving therethrough, and for applying a retarding force proportional to the weight of the railroad car; said system including a pair of spaced shaft means disposed on opposite sides of a trafiic rail over which the railroad car passes, said spaced shaft means each having a spaced eccentric portion; a one-piece lever means rotatably supported on one of said eccentric portions of said rock shafts; friction retarding elements secured to a first end of each of said lever means, said lever means being operable to rotate to a position to engage said retarding elements against a wheel of a railroad car passing over said tratfic rail and operable to apply a frictional retarding force thereto; means on each of said lever means adapted to underlie the tratfic rail and in response to outward movement of said friction elements to lift said traffic rail; and an operating means for rotating said shaft means and the eccentrics thereon to pivot said lever means between positions where said friction retarding elements are spaced apart a distance less than the width of a railroad wheel and to a distance spaced apart greater than the width of a railroad wheel, said lever means having a plurality of seats for receiving the eccentric portions of said shaft means so that the effective length of the lever arm may be varied by disposing the eccentric portion in different ones of said plurality of seats.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,868,493 7/1932 Clausen 18862 2,104,187 1/1938 Clausen 188-62 2,345,488 3/1944 Logan 18862 3,111,187 11/1963 Pollmann 188-62 FOREIGN PATENTS 638,588 6/1950 Great Britain.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

DUANE A. REGER, Examiner. 

1. A TRAFFIC RETARDER SYSTEM FOR RETARDING THE MOVEMENT OF RAILROAD CARS THERETHROUGH AND FOR APPLYING A RETARDING FORCE PROPORTIONAL TO THE WEIGHT OF THE RAILROAD CAR MOVING THERETHROUGH, SAID SYSTEM INCLUDING A TRAFFIC RAIL FOR SUPPORTING AT LEAST ONE WHEEL OF THE RAILWAY CAR PASSING THROUGHH SAID SYSTEM AND FOR BERAING THE WEIGHT OF THE WHEEL AND RAILWAY CAR SUPPORTED THEREBY; A SERIES OF INDEPENDENT LEVERS SPACED ALONG SAID TRAFFIC RAIL AND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID TRAFFIC RAIL, EACH OF SAID LEVERS BEING INDEPENDENT OF EVERY OTHER LEVEL, A FIRST INTEGRAL ARCUTATE PORTION ON EACH OF SAID LEVERS DISPOSED BENEATH SAID RAIL FOR ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH TO LIFT SAID RAIL, A PLURALITY OF SHAFT MEANS EACH SUPPORTED ON RAILROAD TIES AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTING AT LEAST ONE OF SAID LEVERS, A SECOND INTEGRAL PORTION OF EACH OF SAID LEVERS EXTENDING TO THE SIDE OF SAID TRAFFIC RAIL OPPOSITE ITS PIVOTAL MOUNTING ON SAID SHAFT MEANS, AND MEANS ON SAID SECOND INTEGRAL PORTION ADAPTED TO OVERLIE THE FLANGE OF SAID TRAFFIC RAIL TO LIMIT DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID LEVERS; A FIRST RETARDER RAIL CARRIED BY THE SERIES OF LEVERS ON ONE SIDE OF THE TRAFFIC RAIL, SAID FIRST RETARDER BEING POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID TRAFFIC RAIL TO ENGAGE A SIDE OF THE WHEEL OF THE RAILWAY CAR PASSING OVER SAID TRAFFIC RAIL AND TO CAUSE SAID SERIES OF LEVERS TO LIFT SAID TRAFFIC RAIL AS SAID RAILWAY WHEEL ATTEMPTS TO MOVE SAID RETARDER RAIL, A SECOND RETARDER RAIL CARRIED BY THE SERIES OF LEVERS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID TRAFFIC RAIL, SAID SECOND RETARDER RAIL BEING POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID TRAFFIC RAIL TO ENGAGE AND TO ENGAGED BY A SIDE OF THE WHEEL OF THE RAILWAY CAR, SAID FIRST AND SECOND RETARDER RAILS BEING SPACED APART A DISTANCE LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF A RAILWAY WHEEL WHEN THERE IS NO RAILWAY WHEEL FORCING SAID RETARDER RAILS TO MOVE APART AND PIVOT SAID SERIES OF INDEPENDENT LEVERS TO LIFT THE TRAFFIC RAIL AS SAID RAILWAY WHEEL PASSES OVER THE TRAFFIC RAIL IN SAID SYSTEM. 